The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later the venue rotated between a select group of coastal links golf courses in the United Kingdom. It is organised by the R&A.
The following is a partial timeline of the history of golf:
St Andrews Links in the town of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, is regarded as the "Home of Golf.” It has one of the oldest courses in the world, where the game has been played since the 15th century. Today there are seven public golf courses; the Balgove, Eden, Jubilee, Strathtyrum, New, the Old Course, and The Castle Course, sited on the cliffs a mile to the east of St Andrews and designed by the architect David McLay Kidd, which opened in June 2008. The courses of St Andrews Links are owned by the local authorities and operated by St Andrews Links Trust, a charitable organization. St Andrews is also home to The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, one of the most prestigious golf clubs and until 2004 one of the two rulemaking authorities of golf.
The Old Course at St Andrews, also known as the Old Lady or the Grand Old Lady, is considered the oldest golf course. It is a public course over common land in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland and is held in trust by the St Andrews Links Trust under an act of Parliament. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews clubhouse sits adjacent to the first tee, although it is but one of many clubs that have playing privileges on the course, along with some other non-clubhouse owning clubs and the general public. Originally known as the "golfing grounds" of St Andrews, it was not until the New Course was opened in 1895 that it became known as the Old Course.
Musselburgh is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, 5 miles (8 km) east of Edinburgh city centre. It has a population of 21,100.
The following is a partial timeline of the history of golf.
Thomas Morris, known as Tom Morris Junior, Young Tom Morris and also Tommy Morris, was a Scottish professional golfer. He is considered one of the pioneers of professional golf, and was the first young prodigy in golf history. He won four consecutive titles in the Open Championship, and did this by the age of 21.
Muirfield is a privately owned golf links which is the home of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. Located in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland, overlooking the Firth of Forth, Muirfield is one of the golf courses used in rotation for The Open Championship.
Prestwick Golf Club is a golf course in Prestwick, South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is approximately 30 miles (50 km) southwest of Scotland's largest city, Glasgow. Prestwick is a classic links course, built on the rolling sandy land between the beach and the hinterland. The course is near the Prestwick airport, and some holes run along railway tracks on the eastern side of the course.
William Park Jr. was a Scottish professional golfer. He won The Open Championship twice. Park was also a successful golf equipment maker and golf writer. In his later years, Park built a significant career as one of the world's best golf course architects, with a worldwide business. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2013.
Robert Ferguson was a Scottish professional golfer who was one of the top players from the mid-1860s into the 1880s. He won a hat-trick of consecutive titles at The Open Championship in 1880, 1881 and 1882.
The origins of golf are unclear and much debated. However, it is generally accepted that modern golf developed in Scotland from the Middle Ages onwards. The game did not find international popularity until the late 19th century, when it spread into the rest of the United Kingdom and then to the British Empire and the United States.
Musselburgh Racecourse is a horse racing venue located in the Millhill area of Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland, UK, close to the River Esk. It is the second biggest racecourse in Scotland and is the fourteenth biggest in the UK. In 2016, Musselburgh staged 28 fixtures. It was officially known as "Edinburgh Racecourse", and referred to as such in the English press, until the beginning of 1996 but was widely referred to as "Musselburgh" in Scotland long before that and was widely referred to as Musselburgh in the racing pages of Scottish newspapers.
Hickory golf is a variation of golf played with hickory-shafted golf clubs. In the United States the main organizing bodies are The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG) and the Golf Collectors Society; in Canada - The Canadian Golf Historical Society; in the UK - The British Golf Collectors Society; and leading on the continent, in Poland - Polish Hickory Golf Society and Hickory World. There are also quite active groups in Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Italy, Croatia, Sweden and Finland that conduct national tournaments.
The Royal Musselburgh Golf Club is a golf club at Prestongrange House, Prestongrange near Prestonpans, East Lothian, Scotland, on the B1361.
Golf in Scotland was first recorded in the Scottish late Middle Ages, and the modern game of golf was first developed and established in the country. The game plays a key role in the national sporting consciousness.
Robert Chambers was a Scottish publisher, editor of Chambers' Journal, amateur golfer and encyclopaedist, the son of Robert Chambers, the co-founder of the W & R Chambers publishing house in Edinburgh.
Peter Paxton was a Scottish professional golfer who played in the late 19th century. Paxton had three top-10 finishes in the Open Championship. He took second place in the 1880 Open Championship five shots behind winner Bob Ferguson. Paxton was an expert club and ball maker. His golf ball inventions included the Bramble and Sirdar models, the former being the ball of choice for Harry Vardon at one time. Paxton was also the designer of a number of golf courses, with Coventry Golf Club and East Berkshire Golf Club being among those designs.
